Ken quietly checks on Stella while she is distracted by the leftover dessert. He finds no signs of harm on her, and from what he can see, she seems unbothered by what has transpired.
As she calls a waiter, she notices his stare.
“Something up?” she casually asks him.
Not hiding his curiosity, he asks, “You’re not hurt, are you?”
Before she can answer, a waiter approaches their table. As Stella gives her order, Ken can't help but feel a slight pang of dread imagining another bill to pay after the last one. Once the waiter leaves, she returns to the conversation, “Nah, I’m alright,” she grins, “I didn't get caught thanks to my awesome tailing skills, if that's what you’re wondering.”
Ken sighs as he remembers her tailing them and Imino’s comments, wanting to warn her about it in case she needs to do it again in the future. But before he can say anything, she leans in and asks, “By the way, is that the real Imino and Sora Yamamoto?”
Ken looks at them before returning to her, “Yes, they are.”
As soon as he confirms it, he can feel the excitement emanate from her.
“I thought you were kidding! Wait, I need to tell Melanie and Bristol about this. Bristol is going to flip.” She leans back and takes out her phone.
But before she can dial, Ken leans forward and covers her phone's screen, earning him a confused look from her. Having caught her attention, he says, “Before you do that, we need to talk.”
“Oh?” she says in surprise. She puts her phone down and focuses on him, asking, ”What’s up?”
“In the future, when you’re tailing me. Could you please do it more subtly? I could pick you out the whole time, and even Imino noticed you,” Ken tells her bluntly.
A surprised expression appears on her face as she says, “Really? I thought I was pretty good. Those crazy guys didn’t even see me. Unlike a certain someone, I know.” She tilts her head at Ken.
Ignoring her comment, Ken finishes by saying, “Fair enough. But, in the future, when following, try to keep staring or looking at your target to a minimum and try to blend in.”
“Fine!” she groans. After the lecture, she picks up her phone and calls someone.
Exhausted, Ken looks outside the window and watches the pedestrians. He can’t help but notice that the crowd seems a little more… natural. After Imino’s entrance, they retreated for now. Wanting to take advantage of the situation, Ken stands up and says, “Come on, we need to find a place to rest for the night.”
“Will call you back,” Stella ends the call and replies to Ken, “Why can’t we go home?”
“We can’t risk dragging Melanie and Bristol into this mess. There's a high likelihood we are being tailed. But now they're being a little more… discreet,” Ken stares out the window again, still wary of the passing crowds.
“I see where you are coming from, but there are two issues,” she lightly chuckles.
Ken raises an eyebrow as he sits back down, “And those are?”
“One, we still need to pay for my meal.”
“You’re paying for it. I already suffered enough losses today,” Ken interjects.
“When did you become such a cheapskate?” she grins.
“I don’t want to talk about it. The second problem?” Ken asks, keeping the conversation on track.
“Fine, I’ll pay,” she looks behind Ken before continuing, ”Second, Bristol and Melanie are already here.”
“What!” Ken says in surprise as he turns around to face the entrance. He sees Melanie and Bristol enter and look around. “Why would you do that?!” He asks her in a hushed tone.
“While I was tailing, they kept trying to contact me. So I thought it would be better if they met us here once the heat dies down.” Stella waves her hand to get their attention.
Once they notice her, Bristol and Melanie join them. Bristol sits next to Ken, and Melanie sits next to Stella.
Melanie turns to Stella immediately and says, “Stella, are you alright? We were so worried about you.”
The waiter places the meals she ordered on the table, and Stella dismissively answers, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I told you guys that you worry about me too much.”
Bristol scratches his head and says, “I don’t know how you get through this stuff unscathed.”
Ken watches the two comfort Stella, unbothered by their coddling. While this happens, he notices Stella’s indifference to the whole situation, still focused on her meal.
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His thoughts are interrupted as someone lightly taps on his right shoulder. Looking to his right, he finds Sora and Imino standing there. Sora smiles and says, “Yo. Good job on getting the information, Ken.”
The rest of the group turns around to face the two Slayers and becomes quiet. Ken glances at them and notices Melanie and Bristol's surprised expression. Well, I guess seeing is believing.
Returning his focus to Sora, Ken asks, “So what now?”
“For now, we will wait for feedback from Agami and Olya, but in the meantime, I need you guys to sit tight. We’ll contact you once we’re ready.”
“Are you serious?! The Ascenders are after me right now!” Ken says in disbelief.
“Actually, I just got off the phone with Gearfried. Seems that the chapter that Imino took out was the only one left in Phanasma,” Sora answers as he eats a breath mint. “Besides, won’t they be at that event at the Milton Recreational Center or something?”
Ken remembers the event that was taking place, surprised he hadn’t thought about them, too busy with the event to care about him. In realization, he says, “Oh, right.”
“Just shout if you need help,” Sora says as he walks toward the exit.
Before Imino follows Sora, she tells Ken, “Still be careful while you are out there, there may be some avengers out there.” After speaking, she catches up with Sora.
Once they left, Ken returned to the table. He saw Melanie and Bristol's stares. “I did tell you.”
“So you really were telling the truth,” Melanie says, “So that whole thing about-” she pauses and leans in, whispering, “About killing Markov and the Ascenders was true?”
“Yes,” Ken replies, “But right now, you guys are also in danger. I’m not sure if there are any stalkers or Ascenders following me, but if they see you with me, you will be targeted as well.”
A concerned expression appeared on Melanie and Bristol’s faces as he said that. They both look at Stella, who is carelessly enjoying her meal.
Looking at Ken, Bristol asks, “Wait, if that's the case, why did you call us over?”
“I didn’t,” Ken responds, “Stella invited you guys without letting me know.”
Melanie and Bristol quickly look at Stella, who looks up and gives a surrendering gesture, and chuckles, “Oops, guess you got me.”
Melanie gives a defeated look as she says, “Why did you do this?”
Stella wipes her hands and answers, “Well, you guys wanted to meet the Sora and Imino Yamamoto, and besides, it's more fun with friends.”
Bristol sighs and says, “Stella, we didn't ask for this. You can’t keep taking us on these dangerous adventures on a whim.” Bristol's tone becomes more disgruntled as he continues, becoming louder, “Do you even have any consideration for our lives?!”
Stella looks up, and her demeanor changes, becoming more serious, “I hear your complaints, Bristol, but trust me when I say that nothing will happen to you. I won’t allow it.” Her eyes don’t waver as she said that, maintaining a serious expression the entire time. For some reason, it felt unnerving.
Calming himself down, Bristol tells her, “Fine, but this is the last time. We can’t keep doing this.”
“It’s alright,” she calmly responds, “After this, you won’t have to worry about my adventures.”
Feeling the tension, Melanie calmly tries to defuse the tension, saying, “Come on, guys. There’s no need to be like this.”
Bristol turns his attention toward her, “How are you not angered by this? She is playing with your life, too.”
Melanie replies, “I have known since we were kids, Bristol. I have experienced the highs and lows, so I’m used to this. And as crazy as it sounds, I have never been harmed or injured on these adventures.”
“Just because you haven’t been hurt, doesn’t mean it will work like that forever. You can’t say that because it never happened to you, it won't happen to anyone,” Bristol finishes.
Ken watches the argument quietly, not wishing to interfere. Is this what friend groups are like? He never understood the dynamics of friendship groups; all he knew was that they just hung around and spoke to one another, laughing and smiling. He based his whole facade on that. Facade? Ken thinks to himself, wondering for a few seconds, but before he can delve deeper into the topic, his thoughts are interrupted by the argument in front of him.
“But Bristol, this isn’t the first time you were dragged into something like this. Has anything bad happened to you so far?” Melanie argues.
“No. Not yet, but it's just a matter of time.”
“I completely understand, but right now, it’s too late to back out, so for now, we need to get through this, and once it’s over, Stella won’t drag you into her adventures. Right, Stella?” Melanie asks as she looks to her.
Stella pouts and says, “Fine. But don’t blame me when you’re bored out of your mind.”
“It's fine, I like boring,” Bristol says as he leans back.
“So are we all fine and dandy?” Melanie asks them both.
“Yes,” Bristol and Stella say in unison.
“Good, now let's finish here and head out,” she concludes. From the way she handled it, Ken could tell this wasn’t her first time having to mediate.
After paying for the meal, the group leaves the restaurant and returns to Stella’s home, much to Ken’s reluctance.
The streets are calm as the sun was fading and the city lights were lighting up the streets, crowds of people walking home or heading out. As they walk, Melanie and Stella happily chat while Ken and Bristol walk behind them. Ken can’t help but keep looking around, worried about any Ascenders following them. Suddenly, Bristol sticks his arm out in front of him, forcing them to lag slightly behind the group, out of earshot of the two girls.
Bristol says, “Listen, I just wanted to apologize for my treatment of you until now. As much as Stella gets on my nerves, Stella and Melanie are like sisters. So if a stranger tied to something sketchy comes around, I can’t risk anything happening to them.”
Ken, surprised by Bristol's change in attitude, tries to say something, but is stopped by Bristol, who continues, “I am not looking for forgiveness but rather us understanding and respecting one another, especially if we are going to depend on one another. So are we good?”
Ken nods his head, replying, “We’re good. And in all honesty, if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same.” Bristol pats him on the back and smiles. Having spoken, the two catch up with Stella and Melanie.
